Chapter 3 " Mom ?" My daughter was standing behind me , looking at the papers in my hands . Her eyes went from the expulsion letter to my tear - streaked face . She wobbled and had to grab the doorframe to stay upright . " Mom , " she whispered , sounding completely hollow . " Did you lose your job because of me ? " Those words felt like a knife twisting in my chest . Before I could even answer , someone started banging on our door . I opened it to find Ms. Rodriguez and Dr. Peterson from the district office . Peterson had this beat - up cardboard box in her arms , wearing the fakest smile I'd ever seen . Rodriguez was just lounging against our doorframe , eyeing us like we were cockroaches . " Well , well . Brought your kid's stuff back . " Peterson basically threw the box at me , hitting me so hard I nearly fell over . My daughter's books and art projects went everywhere . Right on top was this watercolor painting she'd done that won second place at the district art fair . Now it had a dirty sneaker print right across it . " Couldn't leave anything behind . We're real thorough like that . " The way she said it made my skin crawl . " Plus we wanted to have ourselves a little heart - to - heart . " With that , she took forever adjusting her stupid designer scarf . " Real shame about the expulsion , but honey , you brought this on yourself . Making up those bruises , harassing school staff - and look , now you're unemployed too . Troublemakers like you ? Nobody wants that drama . " Rodriguez actually laughed and got right up in my daughter's face . My poor kid shrank back against me , shaking like a leaf . " Apple doesn't fall far from the tree ! " Chapter 3 L Rodriguez whispered it right in her ear , quiet but mean as hell . " Lying mama raises a lying kid . Little con artist . " " Back off ! " I could feel my face getting hot , my hands clenched into fists . " My daughter aced that test ! You people are the liars here ! " " Aced it ? " Rodriguez cracked up , making sure everyone in the building could hear her . " That pathetic cheat sheet ? Girl , I tore that garbage up and tossed it where it belonged - in the trash ! I was trying to teach her some manners ! Our program's for kids with actual potential , not whatever this is . " She waved her hand at us dismissively . " You're full of it ! " I screamed back , but my voice was shaking . My daughter was gripping my shirt so tight I could feel her little fingernails through the fabric . " Full of it ? " Peterson smirked , looking around our crappy little apartment . " Sweetie , don't test me . We came here to give you some advice . Stay the hell away from our school . Don't even drive past the building , because ... " She stopped talking and stared straight at my daughter with this creepy smile . " Kids can be so clumsy around stairs . Would hate for your little angel to trip and mess up that face . " My whole body started shaking , my heart pounding so hard I thought it might explode . They were being so loud that Mrs. Johnson next door peeked out to see what was going on . Rodriguez noticed and got even louder , practically yelling at the whole hallway . " Everyone check this out ! This is the psycho mom who coached her kid to fake injuries for cash ! Y'all might wanna keep your distance ! " Mrs. Johnson's door slammed shut . Rodriguez looked super pleased with herself . " Alright , we're done here . Enjoy your new life ! " 1.4 % Chapter 3 They walked off , leaving our door wide open and my daughter's stuff scattered all over the hallway . My daughter made this heartbreaking little whimpering sound . " Mom ... I'm so sorry ... I ruined everything ... " I shut the door and locked out the whole world . Dropped to my knees and wrapped my arms around her as tight as I could . " Baby , this isn't on you . None of this is your fault . " My voice came out calm and steady . Chapter 4 Chapter 4